


You're making the typical me break my typical rules

by Sukie_Kagamine



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018) Actor RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Dorks in Love, Love/Hate, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:01:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26260813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sukie_Kagamine/pseuds/Sukie_Kagamine
Summary: Gwil took in a deep breath, looking down at him. This hero must have reached the end of his luck to end up defeated right on his feet. A super villain.
Relationships: Ben Hardy/Gwilym Lee
Comments: 30
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm just a sucker for Harlee, so here's a superhero AU that I've been thinking about for weeks.  
> Title taken from Sucker by Jonas Brothers

Gwil sipped his coffee while swiping in his phone, reading the news. The city's mayor remained in her seat for another hundred years, more parks and monuments being constructed and an honoring ceremony of some policemen's medals after a successful drug bust. He rolled his eyes at the photos - police are basically useless now when they were all ordinary humans compared to countless super powered beings soaring in the skyline of the city. Right under the news about the policemen, there was a string of posts about various superhero faces among the city with their latest victories over criminals. Petty criminals, of course, none of the super villains had any plan for last week. He had heard.

"Here's your egg Benedict and toast." The dining's sweet waitress put the plate of breakfast in front of him next to his usual cup of coffee, and he gave her a charming smile.

"Thanks, dear." He said, and the woman blushed as she walked away. The smile dropped off his face right when she turned her back.

God, how annoying. He sighed as he picked up his fork and started digging in. If she wasn't the one making these delicious breakfasts for him, he would be out of here the second she started flirting and blushing. But then, Gwil was a sucker for this place's food, so he dealt with it in peace. This place was the best part that came with this city, making it less tedious and grey. With wall size windows and a wonderful view of the busy streets, it could keep Gwil for hours on end just sitting there, looking at people rushing through their lives and heroes floating in the sky. It also gave him a clear view of their planned patrol pathways over the entire city.

Half way through breakfast, a small ding came from his phone, and he turned it up to check. A live warning from the city's security system. Every customer in the dining started to receive the same warning, and Gwil let out a groan as the thought came to him. Great, the only day off in the week and some stupid heroes just had to ruin it.

"It's an emergency!" The staff started to yell at them. Alarm started blaring all over the dining as the door leading to the underground panic room opened, and they started to evacuate people down there. "Protector is out in a fight with a monster! Please follow our staff's instruction to get to safety!"

The people around Gwil started to quickly follow the staff. They all looked startled, but not terrified. Unlike three years ago, before the age of heroes, they were quite used to things like this. They learned to keep calm and always be prepared, restaurants and public destinations all had their own safety measures, and insurance companies went wild with their options. Things changed a lot since the first time these things happened, and Gwil was suddenly amused to see it. 

"Mr. Lee! Please come with us!" A waiter came to Gwil, but an explosion from the outside blew the windows away, and he started pushing the waiter towards the door.

"I'm right behind you!" Gwil said, stood up behind him and when the waiter disappeared down the panic room, he came back to his breakfast. He desperately wanted to finish his eggs, and thank God, none of the glass got into his food. 

Gwil sat down and continued eating before it went cold, ignoring the noise of people yelling and cars breaking into pieces outside. He had seen worse. Well, let's say, he had seen better work.

Hm, the coffee today was even more fantastic than usual, Gwil thought when he came back to the drink, enjoying the sight of chaos outside. Even though the behavior of the people had changed drastically, even though they acted like they were in control when a fight between heroes and villains took place, there were still fear and panic and desperate screams, and Gwil was amused by that. He always loved seeing the chaos, which was the result of an entire masterplan, unravelled. He watched from inside the empty mess of the dining, thinking about what kind of monster would be this destructive. Protector, the hero currently leading the fight against this monster, was quite powerful, and he normally neutralized the villains Gwil knew in a very short time. What took him so long this time?

He turned on his phone, and saw his newsfeed filled with photos of a giant beast crawling over the city like Godzilla, with a tiny figure on the ground stopping it from going further into the neighborhood. From what he saw, the figure was having some effects on it, but clearly not enough. Was Protector alone? Where are the other heroes? There should be more heroes coming for this huge creature. There hadn't been anything like this in the city for ages.

A helicopter was flying above the monster, and Gwil saw the live footage from it. Valerie Hyde, a popular reporter in these kinds of disasters, was reporting live from that helicopter. 

Look! It's Protector! He's fighting the monster!

Gwil's eyebrows creased as he watched the video, seeing how the hero was handling this menace. Well, first things off, he couldn't fly. Fighting something with such a huge size difference, being unable to change the direction of attacks made Protector struggle to keep up with the monster. Every step it took, he had to run for his life to follow, and his super strength could only slow the thing down. His most prominent power, which was creating a protective force field out of the brightly white energy coming from his hands, was helpful when he fought bullets or knives, but too small for such a monster. He even tried to make a giant force field big enough to stop the thing from walking further into the city, but it only held for a few minutes. From what Gwil saw, he was useless. And his moves seemed slow. He was exhausted. 

"This idiot." Gwil mumbled, crossing his arms. Where the hell is his reinforcement? Where the hell is--

The whole room was shattered again as the force threw Gwil backwards. His ears were ringing as he crawled back up, using a large broken piece of the wall to shield himself. His heart raced in his chest as he looked, and saw the thing that had just burst into the room, breaking the walls into pieces in the process. It was in the far end of the room, among the debris, and a dark blade slowly emerged from Gwil's hand as he glared at it. Was it some attack from the monster…?

A roar from the outside made him jump, and he looked out to see the monstrosity walking in the city centre, smashing everything under its feet. The whole building rumbled with every earth-shattering step. Gwil waited for a second until the monster walked away, and slowly got to the other side of the room, sharp blade in hands. What was that? 

And then he saw it. Oh great. It wasn't a cannon ball or a meteor. It was Protector. The hero must have been thrown by the monster like a rag doll to look so pathetic. He was bleeding, covered with dust and dirt from the debris. His armor was full of cuts and blood and he was lying unconscious on Gwil's feet. The mask covering his eyes couldn't hide the paleness of his face and the heavy way he tried to breathe. Gwil took in a deep breath, looking down at him. This hero must have reached the end of his luck to end up defeated right on his feet. A super villain.

.  
.  
.

When Ben woke up, he was in the infirmary in the west wing of the head quarter. White walls, marble floors and soft light. Such a familiar sight, even when he became a member of the League only a few years ago. Despite having the powers of creating a force field to protect himself, he got injured a lot. Well, maybe the name Protector he picked wasn't so right, after all.

"Awake already?" An also familiar voice called out to him, and he looked up from his spot on the bed with a groan. He loved seeing Joe, but seeing Joe meant being beaten to a bloody pulp and getting sent to the infirmary, and it wasn't a pleasant feeling.

"What happened?" He asked, looking at Joe's face, and the other man got closer.

"How are you feeling, buddy?" He checked the IV running into Ben's arm and looked over the bandages on his chest a little before sitting down next to the bed. 

"I've been better." Ben sighed as the numbing pain from probably a wound in his chest, his entire body was sore and he felt like he had just run a marathon even though he just woke up. The medicine and doctors at the headquarter are always the best, but going on missions was always this bad. He furrowed his eyebrows, trying to remember what was happening before he passed out from an attack. "I… What happened to me? Wait, there's a monster, right? Shit, where is it?"

"Calm down." Joe rolled his eyes and held his shoulder down with careful hands. "It's been taken care of. Lucy sent a whole team to take it down and clean it up. Seriously, we were surprised you could last that long."

"Oh, God, it was huge." Ben waved his arms, and then dropped them when it sent shock waves of pain to his brain. 

"It's never appeared anywhere before. It's like freaking Godzilla or something." Joe shook his head. "The city's ruined. We were so glad you even survived, buddy."

"Yeah it's not like I had a choice." Ben huffed. "It came out of nowhere, tall as a skyscraper, and steamrolled over everything and everyone. I was the only one active at that time!"

"Well, you're always active." Joe patted his arm. "But I guess we're lucky you were. At least no one died."

"The first good news." Ben leaned back, breathing in slowly. It hurt less when he didn't move, and he knew with his enhanced regeneration abilities, he could get out soon. "So, who was in the rescue team?"

"Well there was Rami, Allen, Aaron, Louisa and Luke. Pretty elite, huh?"

"Not as elite as me." Ben pouted, and Joe laughed.

"Yeah, well, you were in a pile of bricks somewhere, like a Lannister you are." He waved his hand. "And they had--"

Joe stared at him for a moment in silence, and suddenly Ben knew something wasn't right. Joe never shuts up. Like, never.

"What did they have?" Ben looked at him, and Joe shrugged.

"Well… Something weird happened while you were gone. Our team was actually pretty late. After you disappeared and before the team came, someone else faced the monster head on, weakening it, and… Well, it's not one of ours."

"Who was that?" 

Joe took in a deep breath. "It's Thorn."

"What?" Ben could only let out a sound, and stared at Joe, gaping. 

"It's Thorn. The super villain." Joe sighed. "The one you almost caught the other day."

"He did what?"

"He stepped up, fighting the monster. Keeping it from going further around the city." Joe got to the computer at the corner of the room and started to search for some news. Ben looked at the projected screen on the wall without blinking for a second.

Joe found loads of photos taken ranging from when Ben was head on with the monster to when Thorn appeared, and he couldn't believe in his eyes. Apart from his embarrassingly early defeat, of course. It was really him. Thorn, the super villain with the dark cloak, dark armor and the ability to fly and summon black obsidian swords out of his wrists. Ben had history with him, a lot, really, Lucy had assigned to him the mission to take Thorn down ages ago and Ben had never finished it. Thorn was always too powerful, too cunning, too dangerous compared to him. Just seeing the familiar figure made anger boil inside Ben. He remembered all of the wounds and blood loss and exhaustion from his previous encounters with Thorn, and the freezing cold feeling of having that blade slicing through his flesh was like being dropped into hell. Only if hell was an eternal, deadly winter.

Joe clicked on a footage, and they both watched the moment Thorn came. Floating in the air, he emerged from the pile of debris under the monster's feet and threw a series of swords into it. It was like he was testing the waters, the first ones were too small they bounced off the thick skin, but his swords got bigger and bigger until he started throwing house pillar sized swords at it. He changed the angle constantly, he never let it catch him, always moved, always found different weak spots to hit, and he fought it with full force - even Ben never saw him this powerful and deadly before. 

"Why did he do that?" He voiced the greatest question in his head, wondering what made the criminal a hero all of a sudden. 

"No one knows why." Joe shrugged. "When the rescue team came, it's almost down. Look at it."

He skipped to the end of the clip, and they saw the monster's blood spilling all over the ground, tens of swords impaling through its mouth and eyes and chest. It was a horrifying scene, really, just like how they imagined Thorn would cause. The villain was floating in the air, completely unharmed. Maybe he did break some sweat, but other than that, he was fine. Ben winced when he thought about all the broken bones and wounds on his body. God, what a shame.

"Where did he go after this?" Ben asked.

"Disappeared before Rami and the team came. But everything he did was caught on tape. The media is exploding with conspiracy right now."

"Was a lot of people hurt?" 

Joe shook his head. "A lot got injured, but no one died. They are all alright in the hospital. Thorn did a good job keeping the monster at bay."

Ben nodded, sighing. Great, maybe Thorn would become a hero soon after this and he would be unemployed.

"You stay here and rest for another few days, I'll draw some plans to get you back on your feet as soon as possible." Joe patted on his arms before standing up and gathered some papers on his desk. "I'm gonna head out for a meeting now, so just catch some sleep, yeah? I'll come back to check on you later."

Ben nodded and closed his eyes. Exhaustion and soreness swallowed him whole as he drifted off, dreams full of monsters and beasts.

To be continued


	2. Chapter 2

"You got something for me?" Gwil picked up immediately the moment he saw the name calling on his phone. He quickly turned off the TV and sat down on the couch. 

"Yep. I found your guy. Took a while with the teeny tiny amount of information you had."

Gwil's heart raced in his chest at the news. He let out a sigh, feelings mixed. He had been waiting for this call the entire week, wondering what he would do once he found out. Everytime his phone rang, everything else faded and all he could think about was the unconscious face under the rubble.

"His name's Ben Hardy, 29 years old, British. He's been working as a personal trainer for six years, currently living alone in a small flat on… Well, I'll just send you the address."

"Thanks. It's so much more than I asked for." Gwil finished taking notes of the details. 29. So young.

"Who's this, by the way? Seems hot."

Gwil let out a surprised chuckle. He opened the photo on his phone again and looked at Protector. Ben Hardy, apparently. "Huh. He does look hot."

Of course he had to be hot. Young, heroic, powerful, and hot. His bed must be full of women every night.

"Well, take a chance on him. You're also hot."

Gwil rolled his eyes. He was more interested in killing this man while he was asleep. But then letting people think he's just stalking a crush was better than letting them know Ben Hardy was the secret identity of the mighty hero Protector.

"Yeah, I'll try. Thanks again." He said before hanging up.

Gwil sat back on his chair, staring at the photo in his phone again, sighing. When he saw Protector unconscious in that dining last week, his head was completely blank. He had no idea how that precious opportunity would just suddenly fall into his lap. He had been furious with Protector for ages - this young, arrogant wanker has been his biggest obstacle in every plan ever since he showed up a few years ago. His powers were coincidentally the exact opposite of Gwil's - Gwil made swords out of his hands while Protector made shields, Gwil's energy was like dark tendrils curling over his wrists, while Protector's energy was a bright white light from his fists. Protector, Ben Hardy, was extremely dangerous. He almost killed Gwil a few times, and managed to injure him so many times. When Gwil saw him in that pile of rubble, a thousand different possibilities came into his head. He knew what he should do - made sure that the hero was dead. It would be a victory for him, he could finally get rid of this annoying hero. Everything would be easier - at least for a while. But then Gwil always wondered what was happening inside the hero's head. How he could find out Gwil's carefully laid out plans so quickly, how he could save all of the people and take back all of the money. He was brilliant, and Gwil never stopped asking questions about him. So Gwil did the second best thing he could do - open Protector's mask and take a photo of him.

He looked weaker than Gwil had ever seen him, face as pale as a sheet, but bright red blood covered the front of his chest. His breathing was desperate, something was definitely wrong with his lung from the fall, and Gwil was pissed. Unlike Gwil, he had a team, a League even, and they were supposed to aid each other in battles. Why would they leave him alone, facing a giant beast? He spent years fighting villains, saving people, and that was the kind of team he got? 

Gwil's phone beeped, snapping him from his thoughts. It was Ben Hardy's address. He opened the message and his eyes went wide open. It was only a few blocks away.

.  
.  
.

Joe's new healing method was pure genius, Ben thought when he stretched on his own bed, drenched in sunlight. It was always warmer and safer at home. He hated the time spent in the infirmary. He never had any privacy or comfort.

Living alone made his mind calm. It gave him the chance to release all of the restraints, to just exist as himself and not having to worry about anything at all. He could break the table by gripping too hard. He could break the fridge for slamming it in. But it was all fine, he would just buy a new one without thinking about it. No worries, no anxiety, no fear of accidentally hurting people with his natural powers. That relieved him more than anything ever could.

Ben blasted Queen on his phone, dancing around the flat while he brushed his teeth, took a quick shower and put on a pajama. Yes, pajama, because he needed to visit Starbucks for breakfast and his body was still a little hurt to do horribly dangerous things like turning on a stove. And he had a love for the croissant there. 

It was still early in the morning, so the streets were quite peaceful. A few cars passed by from time to time, some people got up early to run laps around the curb, but other than that, nothing else. He absolutely loved the silence. Ben took in a deep breath, taking in the fresh air and the sweet scent of some flowers from nearby flower pots on people's balconies. Most of the buildings on the side of the road were still closed, and the feeling of being awake while people were sleeping was the best. His city had always been busy and loud and sometimes frustrating with all of the people and cars. He appreciated the moments like this.

The Starbucks was just around the corner, and Ben took a turn, prepared to look for it, when he saw the destruction. It hit him so hard even after all the years being a superhero - all the buildings on his left were crushed into dust, the devastated sight stretched farther than his eyes could see, and the leftover belongings of the people among the debris made his heart ache. He was in the infirmary for a whole week and totally forgot about the mass destruction this ridiculous Godzilla had caused in the city. While his body had its own superhuman stamina and Joe's special medicine healed him in that one week, the city's wounds were still there, unable to close. Some cranes and excavators were standing quietly on the side of the road, probably resting for a new day of cleaning up after the heroes' battle. 

It would take a long while until everything here could come back to normal. He sighed and looked around. Thank God the Starbucks was still intact, Thorn probably stopped the monster from coming this way. He quickly walked towards it. 

Everything looked nothing out of the ordinary when he walked in. It was early, so not many people were in the shop. The barista remembered him and greeted him with a lopsided smile.

"Hey, Ben." She tried to sound cheerful, but Ben knew she was pretending. "Where have you been all week? We were all waiting for you."

"Uh… I'm out of town. Some rich old women in Ohio wanted to have private sessions, so…" He made a light joke, trying to cheer her up, and her smile did go a little wider. 

"Well, what's for today? The usual? Or would you like to try our new recipe?"

"Is it any good?" He raised his eyebrow and smirked, and the barista laughed. 

"I'm sure it'll blow your mind. How about the croissant?"

"Yeah, two of them and whatever drink you want to impress me with." 

"Just two minutes." She promised, and turned back inside to prepare his order. But before she disappeared, he called out gently.

"Wait. Hey." 

The woman turned around and looked at him with surprised eyes. "Yes, Ben?"

"Are you feeling okay?" He lowered his voice even when no one else was there to hear them. The woman nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm great. I mean, our shop somehow magically survived the monster last week, everything's still intact and more people started to come here since some other places were destroyed." She gave him a small smile. "It's just… My sister's in the hospital. Her school's been attacked by the monster and she broke several bones."

"Oh." Ben let out a shaky breath. Guilt surged up inside him as he thought about the incident. If only he could be stronger, if only he lasted longer against the thing, he could somehow save more people from it. "I… I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. You weren't here when it happened." She shook her head. "You couldn't have done anything."

Yeah… Right.

He slipped the money on the counter and picked a seat near the door, sitting down in silence. Ben leaned his chin on his hands, staring out the window. The dawn was never so clear from this spot, thanks to the fallen buildings and houses. It shed a warm golden light over everything, even the rubble, and made it a little less daunting. Ben cursed himself for letting this feeling come back again. Guilt. Regret. He had been doing this for six years, he should be used to failing. Ben knew people could never succeed all the time, especially a hero. But the destruction had never been this severe. If Thorn didn't show up, it would be a lot worse. Ben still didn't know the motivation behind what the villain did, but he was still glad it happened. It could be part of a greater, more horrifying scheme he had, but Ben didn't care about that now. As long as the people were safe.

The voice of the barista stopped his thoughts. He stood up and stepped to the counter to retrieve his food and drink. 

"Thanks for choosing us, Ben. And also the tip." She smiled, and he gave her a smile back. 

"You know, if you need any help with your sister in the hospital… Maybe I can make a few calls. To, you know, make sure she's best taken care of."

"A lot of people are injured after the incident, Ben. It's not our place to ask for special treatment." She shook her head and waved him goodbye. He picked up his order and walked out of the door. 

Ben was too indulged in his thoughts when someone suddenly came into his path, blocking him, and he couldn't stop in time. He slammed into the figure in front of him and just like all those cheesy films, spilled coffee all over the man's chest. And he was wearing a plain white shirt. Jesus.

"Damn it." Ben mumbled, stepping back to look at the one blocking him, and at the same time, the man kneeled down to pick up his fallen box of croissant.

"Shit, I'm sorry." He groaned, and stood back up quickly, giving Ben the food. There was a huge stain on his shirt, and his glasses were lopsided, and God, he was gorgeous.

Ben was speechless as the man fixed his glasses and his stance and apologized and completely ignored the fact that his shirt was probably ruined forever.

"Do you have time? I'll make it up to you." He looked at Ben's eyes with genuine regret, and Ben almost took a step back. This man's eyes were the exact color of the Pacific Ocean when the sun went down. The same ocean he fell into and almost drowned in the last international mission. And these eyes really could drown him again.

"I… It's alright, I can buy another one. But your shirt's stained…" Ben pointed out, trying not to feel small under the impressive height of the man. A sexy skyscraper, he was.

"Nevermind. I have a spare one in the car. I'm sorry for the coffee, I just didn't see you there. I knew it, these glasses will be the death of me." He shook his head and quickly walked to the counter. He sounded Welsh. "What did you have?"

"Really, it's fine, you don't have to--"

"He had number 15." The barista gave them a cheeky grin as she pointed at the menu. "Do you want me to fix him a drink for you right now?"

"Of course." The sexy skyscraper nodded, and Ben rolled his eyes. 

"And what's your order?" She asked, and he hesitated for a moment before shrugging. 

"The same as his, I guess."

The woman nodded knowingly before disappearing again. The man sighed and turned around to face Ben with another apologetic smile.

"Sorry for that. It's my first day with these glasses and--"

"It's alright." Ben cut him off, and sat down. The sexy skyscraper followed him into the opposite seat. Now he finally could take a closer look at this beautiful creature, and his mind was short circuit for a second. The bright blue eyes, the long lashes, the brown hair and beard and warm smile. God. Not to mention his low, deep voice. Reminded Ben just why he was into men in the first place. "I'm not in a rush or anything. Are you?"

"Not really." The man shook his head, leaning back against his chair. He raked a hand through his brown hair, making it a little disheveled and making Ben's heart skip a beat. "Just on my way over to pick my cat from the hotel."

And he's sweet with cats. Aww.

"You can have my croissant. Drinking only coffee for breakfast isn't healthy, and I don't want you to be late for the cat." Ben pushed the box over to him, putting on his most charming smile.

"Come on, I'm the one knocking your coffee over, I can't--"

"Hey, it's fine. Everyone's been through a lot these days, with the monster and everything. You deserve a treat. I can buy another later." Ben shrugged, opening the box and giving a croissant to Gwil. "I'm Ben Hardy, by the way. You can just call me Ben."

"I'm Gwilym May." He held out his hand, and Ben took it. Long, slender, warm fingers slotted against his. "Just Gwil for short."

"Hi, Gwil." Ben chuckled.

Gwil looked down at the bread for a second before tearing it in halves, giving Ben one. "Share it with me?"

"Sure." Ben shrugged and took the half, butterflies scrambled in his stomach. Maybe he could take his mind off the hero stuff for just a few minutes.


	3. Chapter 3

"Oh, are you serious?" Gwil mumbled as he surfed his newsfeed in disbelief. He was sure his decision of fighting the monster would be questioned by every and all of the residence, giving the fact that he was a wanted criminal, but just a few hours on the Internet and he was shocked with all of the conspiracies. Some of them said maybe Thorn was one of the heroes going undercover, and when emergencies came, he had to step forward. Others said maybe Thorn was sick of being hunted and chased and villainized so he decided to create a monster to fight and deceive them all that he was becoming a hero from now on. Others said he did change, and he wanted to do the right thing and take Protector's place. But then when he digged a little deeper, he saw even crazier conspiracies that made him gag. Some 13 year old girls, he supposed, built a bunch of different stories about him and Protector. They were suspicious that he appeared to save Protector because there was something between them. Like, romance kind of thing. Their made up theories ranged from a sweet, anime-like love story, to full on porn. In a particularly detailed post on reddit, Thorn and Protector's secret identities were a married couple, so that explained why the hero had never managed to arrest and imprison Thorn. It sunk among hundreds of other conspiracies online, but it burned into Gwil's brain and made him want to end the world in his next grand scheme. It was so goddamned ridiculous.

People had a bizarre imagination, seriously. He never thought about it much until turning on the news and saw how confused people were about his action that day. To be honest, he was also surprised of himself. They kept asking the reason why he did it, but when he was in that situation, he didn't think much. It just took him a few seconds to decide, and he himself, wasn't even sure what pushed him to it. Seeing his city in real danger, or seeing the enemy he always highly-estimated being defeated under his feet. But then hated Protector, he was sure of that. Why would he choose to save an ungrateful, lazy city, or the so-called hero who gave them the chance to be so ungrateful and lazy? These people had been the worst. They were arrogant, cruel and envious towards each other. The politicians were corrupted, the police were useless, and the people were mean. They threw everything, even each other, under the bus to climb higher, and the money Gwil took from their banks were nothing compared to what they did to the weaker ones beneath them. They, at some point, deserved to have this monster destroying the city. And Protector… He and the others were the reason these people became so arrogant and careless. They thought every problem would be solved if they just yelled for the heroes for help.

Protector… Gwil groaned when he thought about him. He still remembered the first time Protector appeared. It had been years, but he never forgot the moment he saw the hero. Thorn was in the middle of his plan to destroy Illyana Bridge in order to distract the heroes so he could kidnap the politician who had the city's confidential records. All of the so-called heroes in the city were too stupid to find out - all they did was focusing on the explosion at the bridge, and they didn't even save all the innocent people. There had been a League of Heroes then, but the leader was sent away on some missions abroad, and Gwil picked that day to carry out his plan. He was so close, an inch close from getting the information out of the coward's mouth when suddenly, the wall next to him blew up and this new hero stood there. It was a ten inch steel wall, and Protector just punched through it like paper. 

Gwil immediately threw some swords at him, but the room lit up with his bright energy, and the force field stopped all of his weapons. At that moment, he realized this wasn't going to be easy. He was too careless and was heavily injured without bringing the governor with him. And he failed that time. The first time ever since he became a threat to all of the citizens of this city. A precious rock with an elite team of superpowered heroes. At the end of the day, Protector somehow managed to rescue all of Thorn's hostages and saved the city's information from being exploited. 

After that, Thorn had the unfortunateness to encounter Protector for many times, and he got the opportunity to see with his own eyes the full potential of the hero. His wit, his intelligence, his power. It was fascinating. Now when Gwil had discovered Protector's secret identity, he started digging into every single thing that he could use: the customers, the time table, even his favorite Starbucks, so one day Gwil could get in and pretend to be someone this man could trust. Yesterday's encounter with Ben was more successful than he expected. At first, he only wanted to become Ben's new friend and slowly got his way into Ben's life, taking information about the rest of the League from him, but the way Ben looked at him changed it all. Those damned conspiracies might had a point.

With the force field, Protector was almost invulnerable. His body was, but his heart and mind wasn't. Gwil just wanted to learn about him to build a plan deep enough, smart enough to attack just that, so he could bring Protector and his whole League down. And he found the perfect way to do that.

"Hello again, Gwil." Ben chuckled in surprise as he saw the familiar man standing near the door of the coffee shop, two cups of coffee ready in his hands. "Fancy meeting you here."

"To be honest, it's fancy meeting you anywhere." Gwil grinned as he handed Ben one cup, and the blond man raised his eyebrow.

"This is…?"

"I told you I'd pay you back." He tilted his head a little while looking at Ben with his sparkling blue eyes, and the butterflies came back in his stomach again. Every time he saw this man, he had no idea what to do anymore. Everything felt awkward when he stood in front of someone so attractive.

"That's great." Ben gave him a small smile back and took the coffee. They both sat down in a table and he started trying out the taste. He had never tasted anything like it before.

"Don't tell her," Gwil covered his mouth and whispered, gesturing towards the counter. "It's my own blend. I only bought mine."

Ben let out a small laugh. It actually tasted pretty nice. Unique. Alluring, really. Just like this mysterious man in front of him. They slammed into each other last morning by accident, and immediately, he was drawn to the man's charm. Gwil looked gorgeous, of course, but the way he spoke or the way his long fingers gently tapped on the table surface or the way he held his coffee cup was intoxicatingly graceful. Their short meet yesterday morning was replayed a thousand times inside Ben's brain, filling him with curiosity and excitement. He almost asked the man out right then. But then Gwil had to leave to pick up his cat when Ben still hadn't gathered enough courage.

"And I also got these for you." He tapped on the box of cream puffs on the table, and Ben melted with a sigh.

"I… Wow. Thanks, Gwil. I love it. Cream puffs are my favorite." He stared at them longingly before looking up at Gwil. "But I'm not allowed to eat these. Too much sugar."

"Seriously? A diet? Are you some kind of model?" Gwil laughed, which was one of the warmest sounds ever. "Wait, you know what, with the way you look, you definitely are."

Ben shook his head. "I'm a fitness coach. If I let myself slide with these cream puffs, I'll slide further and further down with God knows what other sweet treats, and in no time, I'll lose my only proof to the customers. I mean, who would believe that they could have a perfect body with the help of a man who doesn't?"

Gwil narrowed his eyes at Ben for a second, before picking up a cream puff, holding out near his face. "Come on. I bought these for you. Eat this."

Ben shook his head, almost blushing. Gwil looked so sweet like this, trying to coax him into having treats. God, turning down delicious food everyday to keep in shape for the hero work was horrible enough. Now he had to say no to this?

"Come on." Gwil wiggled the pastry in front of his lips, a pleading smile on his face. "Just this one first."

Ben tried to turn away for a second, before groaning and gave up. He hated himself for giving in, but opening his mouth to let Gwil put the cream puff inside was the most amazing feeling in the world. He quietly chewed the pastry with a shy smile.

"It's been years since I've ever had anything this good." He mumbled, and Gwil laughed as he started feeding Ben more.

"God, you're too harsh on yourself." He shook his head at Ben, who looked at the rest of the cream puffs like he was about to cry. "Just relax a little."

Well, if only he had any idea how much Ben wanted to let himself have a break. Going on a holiday, having an unhealthy meal, sleeping in or going to bed early, he hadn't done any of that for so long he could hardly remember it. Going to work and saving people were already asking for all of him. There was no room for anything else. If he wanted others from the League to respect and highly-evaluate him, that was what he needed to do.

"Nuh-uh, enough. I can only eat one." He gathered all of his inner strength to refuse the second one, and Gwil finally stopped pestering him with those blue eyes. 

"Fine. You can take this home." He said before taking another sip of his coffee. "Maybe take a break off your only-beef diet for a while."

Ben rolled his eyes but still smiled. The taste of buttercream mixing with the scent of coffee was making him melt into a puddle on the floor. 

"So, how's the glasses today?" He asked, enjoying the energy running through his body as the caffein kicked in. 

"Ah, these." Gwil shook his head. They made him look even sweeter than he already was. "I finally got used to them."

"You look great in them." Ben said without thinking, and the other man burst into laughter.

"Why, thank you." It's clear that he was so used to being flirted with. And from the way he acted around Ben, well, seemed like Ben was also on the receiving end of the flirtation. "And you look good in everything, too."

"Not if you keep making me eat these amazing things!" Ben groaned, and Gwil grinned. 

"Hey, actually, there's something I need to tell you. It's important. It's why I'm here." He cleared his voice, suddenly getting serious, and Ben stopped smiling. What's he talking about? 

"Yeah?"

"I'm actually a time traveller." He stared into Ben's eyes with unmasked intensity. "Before I jumped back here, we were having a small argument. You were mad at me for forgetting where we had our first date in our 4 year anniversary, you kept saying we went to a film and I said we had dinner together at your place. So, would you like to prove yourself wrong by going to the cinema with me this Saturday night?"

Ben burst into laughter. God, that was smooth.

"No way." He held his hands out. "You're coming to my place Saturday night."

"But there's this really interesting film…" Gwil furrowed his eyebrows, pretending to be in thoughts, but Ben could see the smug grin on his face.

He scribbled his address on a napkin and shoved it in Gwil's hand. 

"We can cook together then." The man moved forward to kiss on Ben's cheek before standing up and waved goodbye. "Gotta go. See you Saturday."


	4. Chapter 4

Gwil bit his fingernails for a nervous second after he rang the bell. Everything went so smoothly and easily he couldn't believe it. Only a few days and he was already in his enemy's house without being doubted and killed. Maybe after tonight, he would find a way to strike the League of Heroes deep from the inside and they wouldn't know what hit them. Gwil knew his charm had some advantages, especially when he could seduce both men and women into giving him the things he wanted, but it was a golden opportunity that was given by God himself. 

"Hey." The door opened, and Ben was standing there in his shorts and t-shirt, looking so careless and at home it made Gwil smile a little. He might be a muscular man with superhuman strength, but at home, he looked like a soft teddy bear. Ben was also smiling and held the door open for him. Gwil could see the faint blush on his cheeks. "Come in."

"I have cognac." Gwil walked in and happily showed the other man what he brought with him for the meal.

"Just perfect." Ben chuckled and led him inside towards the dining room. Gwil looked around, taking everything in quickly. 

It was smaller than his place, simple and neat. But the layer of dust on the furniture made him wonder.

"You don't seem to be home often." He commented as he followed Ben into the warm kitchen. The blond man clearly had spent the whole afternoon here trying to make something nice, because it looked like the biggest mess Gwil had ever seen. Burnt meat, milk and cream splashing everywhere, and oil was all over the place.

"Yeah. I'm usually too busy with work. I only come home to sleep." Ben sighed as he tried to distract Gwil from the battlefield on the kitchen counter by taking him to the dining table. His cheeks got even redder when Gwil raised his eyebrow at the mess, which was kind of adorable. "You stay here and I'm going to finish--"

"Oh come on, I said we'd cook together." Gwil shook his head, standing up and kissed Ben's cheek with a smirk. "Let's see what you were doing before I came in and interrupt you, yeah?"

"Well--actually--no--" Ben stuttered, he tried to pull Gwil back to his seat, but the taller man ignored him and continued to the counter. He looked around.

"So… Mashed potatoes, right? Steak, great, I'm so into them. Just a little repair and these will be amazing, don't worry. Cauliflower? Hm…" Ben seemed to be more and more embarrassed as Gwil went through everything. "What are you going to do with the eggs?"

"Scramble them." Ben muttered from his spot. "It's… I… I was planning on a decent menu, but everything went bad and it's too late to call for take outs so…"

"It's great that I'm here to help, yeah?" Gwil reached out a hand to brush against Ben's shoulder to calm him. "Don't worry, maybe you can make me scrambled eggs tomorrow morning."

Gwil knew he was letting himself wild with the flirting, but seeing just a few words could frustrate the other man so badly made him quite smug about it. Protector never stuttered. Protector never blushed. Protector never shied away and did not dare to look into his eyes. Seriously, he was so gullible Gwil could easily summon a sword and kill him right there and he wouldn't even know. Gwil had a thousand chances of killing the hero, but somehow, he ended up not doing it. Gwil assured himself that he needed Ben alive some more to gather information about the League of Heroes and that was all it was about. He felt better thinking that.

So all night, they worked on the dinner together. Ben wasn't a horrible cook, he just didn't have enough experience and Gwil guided him through all of it. He happened to have a lot of time cooking at home thanks to his picky nature and no one else could make food that pleased him, and he usually cooked when he felt stressed with the stupid heroes ruining all of his plans. He didn't think that ordinary hobby could make Ben stare at him like he hung the moon and stars in the sky. 

"Here, help me chop these vegetables off. We'll make some soup." Gwil handed him the carrots and turnip, and then, shocked, with the way Ben held the knife.

"Oh God." He gave up his boiling pot of potatoes to run over to where Ben was standing. "Stop that, you're gonna slide your fingers off!"

Ben immediately stopped, face burning with embarrassment. "Sorry, I--"

"Alright, first you need to hold it like this." Gwil carefully took the knife from Ben's hand and showed him how to hold it correctly. "Don't rest your fingers on its back. Here, try it this way. It'll be uncomfortable at first, but trust me, it's better."

He placed it back into Ben's hand, and in the small moment their skin touched, he could feel how shaky the man's hand was. He wrapped his hand around Ben's and moved to stand behind him, guiding his arms position. He held Ben's other hand with his own, and taught him how to stop putting his own fingers under the blade.

"Curl it up like this, that's right, it's like forming a claw. Facing down, nails towards the knife, so if you slip, it'll just slide right off." He whispered into Ben's ears, feeling the other man shivering against his chest. He knew Ben would fall for this move of his. Because everyone else did. "That's great, you're doing it perfectly. Keep going, I'll go back to the pot."

He quickly left Ben's side before the other man could react, satisfied to see the yearning green eyes following him as he walked a few steps away. Having this man in his pocket was too easy. 

"Gwil, would you--" Ben cleared his throat, took a few steps towards him, hands reaching out timidly. Gwil got closer, taking the hands in his, smiling. They got closer and closer until he could feel Ben's shaky breath on his lips. "Would you like to--"

Gwil leaned forward and kissed him. The man melted into his arms as he returned the kiss slowly, and Gwil held his hips, exploring his mouth with ease. Ben's lips were soft. He tasted sweet, as if he had just eaten some kind of candy, and he didn't have much experience with this. It was strange for someone who looked like him. But Gwil didn't want to complain. It had been ages since he had such a good kiss himself, and he had no idea why, but this man tasted different from all of the other men and women he seduced for his work before. All of them, no matter what gender, what age - they all had their guards up. They flirt with him like they knew he was a danger. But Ben just let all of his guards down, fell into his lap and held him like a lifeline. He was the first one who held Gwil like that. Kissed him with such earnesty like that.

When they split for a second to breathe, Ben stared into his eyes and gave him a sunny smile. His cheeks were so brightly pink it was funny. "Hey there."

Gwil chuckled and leaned down to kiss his neck, making him gasp. "Show me the way to your bed, will you?"

Ben nodded, stepping backwards to lead him to the bedroom. It took a while before they finally arrived because Gwil kept sucking hickeys and licking on his neck and he was so much more sensitive than Gwil expected. Ben let out a breathless sound when he fell into the bed and Gwil quickly crawled over him, attacking his neck and jaw with kisses. There was something harmless and soft about Ben, innocent even, when he was under Gwil like this, and Gwil would never admit it sent waves of pleasure up his body. God, he was beautiful. Knowing this man had the powers to lift buildings and rescue the city made it even more unreal - Gwil had this powerful being under him, completely vulnerable and eyes full of trust. 

"You're gorgeous." He mumbled without thinking as both of them fumbled to take off their clothes while maintaining the contact, and Ben bit his lip.

"So are you." He whispered, blond eyelashes fluttering, and Gwil couldn't help but to devour him again. 

Ben locked his ankles behind Gwil's back and pushed against him as they kissed, hands roaming over his bare flesh. They rocked against each other, eyes closed but feeling everything. Ben's physique was incredible. Gwil took his time caressing his body, placing kisses on his skin, and suddenly his lips ran across some ridges. Gwil halted, opened his eyes to take a look, and realized it was a scar. Above him, Ben noticed the change in pace and looked down where Gwil was, staring at the torso covered in scars, large and small, long and short. In the heat of the moment, he must have forgotten.

"I…" He stuttered and swallowed as Gwil didn't say a word. His voice suddenly got so much weaker. "Gwil?"

Gwil snapped himself out of his thoughts and looked up. "...Yes?"

Ben looked more and more uncomfortable every second. He looked like he wanted to just move back and cover his chest, but the way he held Gwil's shoulder and then attempted to let go, and then couldn't-- "Is… Is this okay?"

Gwil stared at the marks of battles on the surface of the man's body. He had some wounds himself, but they weren't this serious. He was always the one attacking, not defending, not caring about saving innocent people or trying to keep the city intact. But unlike him, Ben's body had to stand against tens of thousands of blades and bullets. With the powers to create force fields, Gwil thought he was invulnerable. But the image of Protector jumping in front of a rain of blades coming from Thorn to cover for a young woman came back in his head. 

"I'm sorry." He said, and Ben's eyes widened before he realized what he did. 

Ben pushed Gwil away, shaking his head. "I don't need you to feel sorry for me."

"Wait, I didn't mean it like that--" Gwil tried to explain, but he knew he couldn't give this man the real reason why. How could he say he felt sorry for being the one responsible for all the injuries? 

"You meant it when you looked at me." Ben grumbled, standing up and put his shirt back on. "You just didn't say it."

"No, I--"

"No more 'you're gorgeous' or 'it's fancy meeting you anywhere'?" He cut Gwil off, green eyes full of resentment. "No, just a quiet disgusted look. No, thank you."

Gwil stood up, grabbing his wrist. "Listen to me--"

Ben pushed him, and the force was so strong it almost sent him across the room. Gwil's back hit the wall hard. He panted, hands on his knees. 

When he finally chased away the stars in his eyes from the push, Ben seemed to realize what he just did to Gwil. And his angry expression was immediately replaced with fear.

"Shit." He let out a choked breath, stepping backwards, away from Gwil. "Shit. Are you okay?"

"It's alright, I'll leave." Gwil was still out of breath, but he knew pushing Ben further would only worsen the situation. He quietly left the room, heading towards the door, and when Ben's shaky hands opened the lock of the door for him, he didn't say a word, either. Unlike what he expected from tonight, he just came home alone, not even with a kiss on his cheek. 

In his head, the sight of Protector risking his life, using his powers and body as a shield to the innocent people replayed in his mind in an endless loop. He couldn't sleep that night.


	5. Chapter 5

Ben quietly slipped in through the door right after a medical staff got out, careful not to let her notice. Sneaking was never his strong suit, but with enough training, he could get past the Hall of Heroes' infirmary's security system without anyone noticing. He needed to get an extra memory pill, and the last thing he wanted was someone seeing him stealing it. They would ask, and then he would never be able to keep Gwil a secret.

Ben started searching through the drawers of the cupboard and shelves, looking for the special box of pills that had the ability to wipe out people's memories completely for a period of time. Just as he looked around, he paid attention to the door and the sounds of people outside. He went through a lot of different kinds of medicine before finally seeing the blue pill in a transparent bottle. The label on the outside stated exactly what he needed. He took a deep breath and opened the cap, pouring some out. 

The lock on the door suddenly rattled open, and Joe went in.

"What are you doing here?" The man was in his usual white lab coat and name tag, holding a pile of files in his arms. He raised his eyebrows at Ben, who was standing in the middle of the room, hands in his pockets.

"Wow, is that how you greet your good friend after he recovered from a beating?" The hero laughed, stepping closer. Joe rolled his eyes.

"How are you today then, Mr. Protector?" He put the files down on his table and sat into his favorite chair. He glanced at the rows of drawers on his shelves before turning his gaze back onto the hero.

"I'm great. I'm good." Ben gave him a stiff smile, heart pounding, worrying that Joe might have noticed. He managed to take some pills, closed the bottle, shoved it into the drawer and closed it before the man walked in, and pretended to be doing nothing in particular. "I'm so ready to go back to missions right now."

Joe shook his head. "Not yet. You need proper healing, and there are hundreds of other heroes out there. You can finally have a break, Ben, stop wearing yourself out. Enjoy it."

Ben sighed. He was mostly healed, there was not at all any pain when he moved or did exercises right now, and he knew he could go back into the field if he wanted. But there were some things that just couldn't heal.

"Are you entirely sure you're feeling great now? I can give you a recheck to make sure if you want." Joe asked with genuine care in his eyes, and Ben shook his head.

"No, it's alright, I'm not hurt anymore. It's just--" He swallowed, gaze dropping down onto the floor. He hesitated for a few seconds before looking up. "Is there anything you can do with my scars? Any way you can erase them?"

"Scars?" Joe widened his eyes in surprise. He slumped against his chair, thinking. "But--there are so many of them. You get injured all the time."

"I know." Ben sighed. "That's why I'm asking you. Can you erase them for me? Or at least make them fade or something. I--God, I fucking hate them."

Joe let out a breath, scratching his chin. He eyed Ben's clothed torso with thoughtful eyes. "I don't think I can, Ben. I'm sorry. I mean, it's also your body's natural reaction to the wounds. Some people get scars more easily than others. And you have too many of them. I mean, if you only have one or two, I can try, but…"

Ben nodded, crossing his arms. "...Yeah. It's fine. Just asking."

"Ben?" Joe stared at him, eyes starting to be a bit worried. 

"Yeah?"

"You never asked me to do this before. Are you okay?"

"I'm okay." Ben nodded, raking a hand through his hair. "Just some personal things. Nothing serious."

"You know you can tell me." Joe pushed his own chair to move closer to where Ben was standing and offered him the one nearby. The hero eyed the chair wearily.

Joe always loved to act like a careless, playful person, but he could see through anyone at any time. Especially Ben, who, he claimed, wore his heart on his sleeves. 

"It's a bloke." Ben mumbled, looking away. It sounded so dumb when he said that out loud. He was a hero, for God's sake. His responsibility was to save people's lives, doing dangerous missions and preserve the peace of the world. Joe was also a doctor at this Hall of Heroes. They woke up everyday to do great things: fighting crimes and healing heroes, and having a love interest was nowhere near that. It was minor compared to saving the world. And Gwil wasn't even his boyfriend yet. He might not even know who Ben was anymore after the pills.

"Oh, that's so cool, Ben!" Joe slapped his own thighs, face split into a wide grin. "And then I thought you were some kind of God. You know, all pure and no sex."

Ben rolled his eyes.

"So… Oh…" Realization dawned on Joe's face. "Does the guy… I don't know, hate your scars? Has he even seen them yet?"

"He did. We were on my bed, and then he saw them, and he changed completely." Ben buried his face in his hands. "He pitied me. I don't know if he knew I'm a hero or not, but…"

"Is that why you've been trying to steal my blue pills?" Joe asked, turning back to his files, not looking at Ben.

Ben's eyes widened. "...What?"

"The pills. That wipes memories. That were on my shelf before you were here and now missing." Joe gestured to the shelf, and Ben's face paled. 

"I… I don't know what you're--"

"Relax." Joe waved his hands dismissively. "You can have it. Just erase his memories and ditch him. You can't risk revealing your identity."

"But are you going to--"

"No, I'm not reporting this to the bosses. Can't have you suspended for a few years now, can we?"

Oh, and by the way, if the bosses knew Ben let someone know he was a hero by, say, using his super strength to throw them across the room, he would be suspended from the field for a few years until the threat of being hunted down was completely gone. And not being able to use his powers for good was a torture to him.

"So… I can take them? Without any punishment?" Ben swallowed, not believing in his ears. 

"Yep. Since we're such great friends. Just don't try to steal anything from me again." Joe said with a playful voice, and Ben let out a relieved chuckle. He wrapped his hand around the pills in his pocket.

"Thanks, mate. You're the best." He gave Joe a wide grin, and the man just smiled back.

"Just so you know, that guy's a dick. You deserve better." Joe said as a goodbye when Ben quickly ran for the door. He didn't know how much it sting inside Ben's stomach.

.

.

.

Ben got up extremely early in the morning and headed out to the familiar Starbucks where he met Gwil for the first time. He could send a text asking the man to come to his flat again, but remembering the way he lashed out and threw Gwil out of the door the last time, he doubted the man would come. Seeing him at their usual spot would be the best, even when Ben wasn't sure he would come to the shop today. He just had to try.

The weight of the tiny blue capsules in the small bottle in his pocket pulled him down with every step. That's it, he thought to himself. He knew it would come to this, but he hadn't really felt it until now. He had to slip this pill into Gwil's drink, and the man would forget everything that happened in the last seven days, including seeing him for the first time and the painfully short first date that they had. Ben knew he shouldn't feel hurt. They weren't that close. He hadn't had a real relationship for ages and he should be used to being alone. Revealing his super power only in the first week of meeting Gwil was the proof that getting into a relationship was a bad idea. But maybe that was why it hurt.

Gwil would forget him, and after this, he would never see the man again. He couldn't risk letting anyone else know about him. People's lives were his first priority, and his personal life wasn't. Today would be the last day he saw Gwil in his life, and there were so many regrets it felt like his heart was squeezed so hard he couldn't breathe. They could have had something. Ben wasn't sure what it could be, but he was positive in it. Just like the way his heart fluttered and time slowed down every time he met Gwil, he knew what they could have would be special. They could have had a future together. More dates, more intimacy, more emotions and knowing more about each other. Maybe one day he could wake up next to Gwil and kiss the man good morning. Maybe one day he could come home from a difficult mission and just curl into the man's lap, having a peaceful rest. He had been alone for so long just a spark of potential between them could paint such a beautiful picture of what they could be.

But now, that would only be his childish, naive imagination.

"Thank you." He smiled at the barista, wondering if she could realize how stiff it was. The short walk back to his table was numb. 

Ben sat down, putting his two coffees on the table and opened the one he bought for Gwil. He carefully took the pill out of his pocket and put it into the steaming hot liquid, watching it dissolved and disappeared. He stared into the dark color of the coffee, knowing that the time was close. His last moment with a man he just had the chance to meet for a few days. He put the lid back on and waited.

After a while, the door to the coffee shop opened, and Gwil, with his sweater and jeans and adorable nerdy glasses walked in, not knowing at all that Ben was waiting for him.

"Hey." Ben cleared his voice, trying not to show his shaky hands. "Gwil."

The man turned his gaze to where the sound came from, and his eyes widened in surprise. "Ben?"

"I got the coffee for you." Ben gestured at the coffee cup in front of him, looking at Gwil, hoping he was doing a good job at masking his sorrow. "Come here. I think we need to talk."

Gwil hesitated for a second before coming and sitting down on the opposite side of the table. He didn't take the coffee.

"Ben. Hi." He said, scratching his neck nervously. "I… I didn't expect to see you here."

"I'm sorry for throwing you out the other day." Ben went straight into his part, not playing around anymore. He needed to tell Gwil everything he felt, the truth, before wiping it away. "I was horrible."

"No, I--I shouldn't have acted like that when I saw--"

"Gwil, please shut up." Ben shut his eyes in frustration, and Gwil stopped talking. "To be honest, I've always felt bad for the way I look. The scars, I mean. They're from my job, and even though I love my job, I just hate the scars so much. It wasn't you who felt pitied me, it was me pitying myself."

He took a deep breath. Gwil was still silent. 

"It was never your fault I'm insecure. And it was absolutely my fault when I pushed you. I'm sorry if I hurt you, I just couldn't control myself." He chuckled bitterly. "I'm always in control. With the--powers that I have, if I don't hold back every second I'm in this world, I would hurt everyone around me. So I've mastered the art of holding back. But when I'm with you, I just lose control. Let my emotions drive me. It's stupid."

"So you are a superhuman, then." Gwil whispered. "Are you a hero?"

"Doesn't matter." Ben shook his head. "What matters is I'm sorry. I could have just let it go and let that night happen, but I blew it up for both of us."

He pushed the coffee towards Gwil. "It's not enough for an apology, but it's all I can do. I'm sorry."

"We can always try again. Come on, it can't be the end of us." Gwil reached out his hand, trying to hold Ben's, but he pulled them back. 

"I don't think it's a good idea, Gwil. If I keep letting go of my control like that, I will hurt you sooner or later. And now that you know about my powers, you will also be in danger."

"You are a hero." Gwil blinked. "And you're afraid that your enemies can attack me if they knew."

Ben huffed. "Just take the coffee, Gwil."

Gwil stared at him, narrowing his eyes. He glanced at the cup for a second before shaking his head.

"What--Gwil, _please_."

"Is this some kind of ridiculous break up, Ben?" He pushed the cup away. "If it is, I don't want it." 

" _Gwil_." His voice started to shake as he almost begged.

"Seriously, you think you can just shove this into my face and get to decide everything?" Gwil looked angry, and it hurt seeing how much he cared, under that layer of anger. "Yeah, you want to break up, but what about me? What about what I want?"

"I told you, Gwil. I can hurt you if I'm not careful. Others can hurt you too, and I can't protect you from every single one of them. You don't deserve to live in constant danger like that."

Gwil sighed. He looked like he thought about something really hard for a moment, before looking around, making sure that no one else was in the coffee shop.

Finally, he put his elbow on the table and raised his hand. 

"What are you doing?" Ben blinked. Was he--was he trying to arm wrestle with him? What the hell?

"Why, are you afraid that you'll lose?" Gwil smirked, and Ben groaned.

"Gwil, what's wrong with you? I can break your arm! I can break this table, for God's sake! People could see us!"

"Just try me."

Ben rolled his eyes and put his arm up in a familiar position, gripping Gwil's hand. He imagined their first hand holding to be more romantic than this.

"Don't hold back." Gwil said, and Ben huffed. "Three, two, one."

Ben's hand was slapped onto the table so fast he had no idea what was going on before that. The only thing he found out was that he lost. Fair and square, with Gwil's hand pinning his down onto the table surface.

"I told you, don't hold back." Gwil picked Ben's hand up again, smug when he saw Ben's shock turning into the soreness of losing. "This is determining who's on top, so be really careful, love."

"Oh, you've brought this onto yourself." Ben growled, and Gwil laughed. He would have swooned over the beautiful sound if he wasn't consumed in rage.

_"Three, two, one."_

Ben couldn't believe in his eyes. No one had ever… How could he…

Gwil didn't lose the moment Ben used his super strength. In fact, he didn't lose at all. Their arms were both flexing as they tried their best to push the other's hand down, but even when Ben pushed with as much strength as he could, Gwil somehow was still strong enough to keep it a tie. The smugness was no longer on his face, replaced with concentration. He was also trying so hard to win, but they just kept pushing back and forth, shaking violently with force without any of them actually winning.

At the end, Ben decided to drop. The last thing he wanted was to snap Gwil's wrist in their little game, and his arm was also having cramps. The back of his hand slammed down onto the table so hard a long line of crack appeared. They both cursed.

"How could you do that?" He questioned, and Gwil rubbed his wrists with a grimace.

"God, you're such a monster." He mumbled. "Anyway, Ben, that's the point. I'm not like other men that you have to worry about and protect and save. I'm not Lois Lane."

"Are you also a superhero?" Ben narrowed his eyes, and Gwil burst into laughter.

"God, no. I don't care about the heroes shenanigans. I just want to live my normal life, despite the powers that I so unfortunately have: this, and flight." He held his hands out, palms up. "Until now, at least. You're far from normal, but I want you. I want another date, another chance to make up for the other night, another chance to know about you. Can I do that?"

Ben stared at the open hands, his heart burning in his chest. He glanced at the still steaming coffee cup, abandoned, on the other side of the table. Maybe… Maybe this could finally be his opportunity to be happy. To stop being alone.

He grabbed Gwil's hands and leaned in into a fierce kiss. The other man happily returned it, smiling widely. His hands squeezed around Ben's, not letting go. The slightly too strong grip made Ben giggle. Only he could stand that kind of hand holding, and he knew this was the one.

"You don't have to hold back around me." Gwil whispered into the kiss.

The coffee table collapsed under them, and they cursed again.


End file.
